Scottish Executive

Air Services

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received any applications for support from the interim route development fund to create new services from Glasgow Airport.

Nicol Stephen: All Scottish airports are eligible to receive support from the route development fund and, wherever there is a commercial interest, the Executive and Scottish Enterprise will progress applications fairly and quickly. Discussions with airlines on the potential for new routes out of any airport in Scotland are commercially confidential and would not be made public until any offer of investment from the interim route dvelopment fnd has been accepted.

Autism

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports the use of early intensive behavioural intervention for children with autism and whether it has any plans to give greater financial support to local authorities to fund programmes of such intervention.

Peter Peacock: There is no standard treatment for Autistic Spectrum Disorder. A variety of interventions and teaching methods is used, including applied behavioural analysis.

  The Scottish Executive provides funds to local authorities for education provision, including intervention for children and young people with autism, through the general local government settlement. This year funding totalling £37 million is included in the settlement to further promote inclusion. This figure is set to rise by 35% in 2004-05 to more than £50 million per year.

Central Heating Programme

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made since 1 May 2003 in respect of its commitment to reduce the number of households living in fuel poverty by 30% by 2006.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: Since 1 May 2003, 4,698 homes have been given central heating and insulation under the central heating programme and 10,714 homes have been insulated through the Warm Deal in the private sector by Eaga. Local authorities and housing associations have not yet reported on how many installations they have conducted since 1 May.

  Further, we are conducting seminars to assist local authorities with the fuel poverty element of the local housing strategy that they will produce showing how they plan to eradicate fuel poverty across all housing tenures in their area.

Central Heating Programme

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will consider extending its free central heating installation programme to include disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities and those who are chronically ill.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: We will work with Communities Scotland to examine the data set collected for the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002 to see where we can make an impact on the further eradication of fuel poverty. We will look at disadvantaged groups such as people with disabilities and those who are chronically ill to see how much they are affected by fuel poverty. We hope to publish further work in March 2004 and will consider extensions of the central heating programme afterwards.

Central Heating Programme

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any preliminary financial estimates have been made in respect of extending its free central heating installation programme to include people with disabilities and those who are chronically ill.

Mrs Mary Mulligan: We developed some financial estimates in the course of last year to extend the central heating programme to those over 80 years of age with partial or inefficient central heating systems.

  Now that we have the data from the Scottish House Condition Survey 2002, we will want to analyse it to see how significantly represented some groups of people, such as those with disabilities or who are chronically ill, are in fuel poverty and target those in fuel poverty appropriately.

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many looked after children there are, expressed also as a percentage of child population, in (a) residential care, (b) foster care and (c) care in the community in each local authority area.

Euan Robson: Statistics on looked after children as a percentage of the child population were published on 31 October 2003, in Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03  (Table 10). These figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00287-00.asp .

  Details of looked after children in residential care, foster care, and other community placements are given in the following table.

  

 
 Residential 
  Care
 Foster 
  Care
 Other 
  Community


 Local authority area
 No.
 Per 1,000 people
0-17
 No.
 Per 1,000 people
0-17
 No.
 Per 1,000 people
0-17


 Aberdeen City
 70
 2
 95
 3
 230
 6


 Aberdeenshire
 40
 1
 115
 2
 200
 4


 Angus
 15
 1
 95
 4
 70
 3


 Argyll and Bute
 45
 2
 40
 2
 140
 7


 Clackmannanshire
 15
 1
 35
 3
 65
 6


 Dumfries and Galloway
 20
 1
 145
 5
 190
 6


 Dundee City
 40
 1
 125
 4
 195
 7


 East Ayrshire
 25
 1
 85
 3
 235
 9


 East Dunbartonshire
 15
 1
 10
 0
 65
 3


 East Lothian
 15
 1
 80
 4
 80
 4


 East Renfrewshire
 5
 0
 10
 1
 50
 2


 Edinburgh, City of
 165
 2
 340
 4
 610
 7


 Eilean Siar
 5
 1
 15
 3
 35
 6


 Falkirk
 35
 1
 105
 3
 120
 4


 Fife
 70
 1
 200
 3
 230
 3


 Glasgow City
 330
 3
 705
 6
 1,395
 12


 Highland
 65
 1
 95
 2
 205
 5


 Inverclyde 
 50
 3
 25
 1
 145
 8


 Midlothian
 30
 1
 50
 3
 150
 8


 Moray
 15
 1
 60
 3
 75
 4


 North Ayrshire
 45
 1
 60
 2
 255
 8


 North Lanarkshire
 60
 1
 135
 2
 410
 6


 Orkney Isles
 5
 1
 5
 1
 15
 4


 Perth and Kinross
 15
 0
 65
 2
 85
 3


 Renfrewshire
 100
 3
 105
 3
 310
 8


 Scottish Borders
 25
 1
 80
 3
 95
 4


 Shetland
 10
 2
 15
 2
 10
 2


 South Ayrshire
 25
 1
 55
 2
 110
 5


 South Lanarkshire 
 90
 1
 80
 1
 275
 4


 Stirling
 20
 1
 55
 3
 85
 5


 West Dunbartonshire
 55
 3
 70
 3
 150
 7


 West Lothian
 35
 1
 135
 3
 270
 7


 Scotland
 1,550
 1
 3,288
 3
 6,549
 6



  Notes:

  1. Table excludes children who are on a planned series of short-term placements.

  2. Table includes rounded estimates for local authorities not able to provide information.

  3. Some totals do not exactly equal the sum of their component parts due to the effects of rounding.

  4. Figures given to the nearest five to preserve confidentiality.

  5. Aberdeen City was unable to split up the short-term placements. This has been estimated based on Scotland figures.

  6. Children aged 0-17 (source: General Register Office (Scotland) - 2002 mid-year estimates).

  7. Other community placements include children looked after at home with parents, with friends/relatives, with prospective adopters and in other community placements.

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the staffing ratio is within young people's residential units, broken down by local authority area.

Euan Robson: Statistics on staff ratios with children’s residential units were published on 31 October 2003, in Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03  (Table 19). These figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00287-00.asp .

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently accommodated in residential school placements and how many have been assessed as requiring such a placement but are awaiting funding.

Euan Robson: Statistics on children accommodated in residential school placements were published on 31 October 2003, in Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03  (Table 3). These figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00287-00.asp .

  We do not hold information of those awaiting residential school placements.

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority education department has allocated this year for joint funding of residential school placements and whether Glasgow City Council has exceeded its allocation for this financial year.

Euan Robson: We do not separately identify provision for residential school placements, which is part of the one of the formulas that works out each authority’s single, unhypothecated revenue grant figure. It is for each council to allocate its resources to meet local needs and circumstances.

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children are currently placed on the child protection register, expressed also as a percentage of child population, and under which category they are registered.

Euan Robson: Child protection statistics were published on 31 October 2003, in Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03 . Table 28 shows the number of children on child protection registers at 31 March 2003, and the rate per thousand children aged 0-15. Table 25 shows the category under which they were registered. These figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00287-00.asp.

Children and Young People

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average time is for a child to remain on the child protection register.

Euan Robson: Child protection statistics were published on 31 October 2003, in Children’s Social Work Statistics 2002-03 . Table 25 shows the length of time that children spent on child protection registers. These figures are available on the Scottish Executive website at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00287-00.asp.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of places at each dental school and, if so, by how many places and when it estimates there will be a subsequent increase in student numbers.

Mr Tom McCabe: There has been a continuous increase in the numbers of dental students in Scotland over the last four years. The new intake of dental students for the year 2003-04 is 143. The Scottish Executive is currently in discussions with the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council with regard to target numbers for future intake to dental schools in Scotland.

Diabetes

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to address the number of paediatric diabetes specialist nurses in Scotland, highlighted in Dr Foster’s recent report Your Local Care: A survey of diabetes services in primary care organisations .

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS boards are responsible for planning services in their areas and for securing the staff needed to deliver them. Dr Foster’s research project may be useful to NHS boards for planning purposes although the response rate from NHS boards in Scotland was just over 50%.

  Currently, statistics on paediatric diabetes specialist nurses are not collected centrally; however, from September 1997 to March 2003, the number of qualified nurses working within paediatrics across NHSScotland rose by 32% from 1,457 to 1,916 (headcount).

  At September 2002, the number of health board areas in Scotland providing paediatric diabetic nursing services stood at nine and is detailed within the Children’s Community Nursing Directory NHSScotland. This is updated regularly and is currently under review.

Diabetes

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken in relation to local early identification strategies for diabetes, in light of the findings of Dr Foster’s recent report Your Local Care: A survey of diabetes services in primary care organisations .

Malcolm Chisholm: Responsibility for delivery of these services in accordance with the milestones and action points set out in the Scottish diabetes framework rests with individual NHS boards.

  Screening policies in Scotland are guided by the UK National Screening Committee. The National Screening Committee’s policy position with regard to screening for diabetes (as at March 2003) is that general population screening should not be offered except as part of a peer reviewed and ethically approved project.

Diabetes

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to improve access to psychologists for people who are diagnosed with diabetes, in light of the findings of Dr Foster’s recent report Your Local Care: A survey of diabetes services in primary care organisations that 50% of NHS boards make psychologists available to people with diabetes.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s diabetes standards include access to psychology services as a desirable criterion in its standard relating to patient focus. The local and national reports on its review of diabetes clinical standards, due to be published in spring 2004, will provide information on the degree to which NHS boards are meeting this criterion.

  Although the response rate from NHS boards in Scotland to Dr Foster was just over 50%, they and their emerging diabetes managed clinical networks may find the information on this topic in the Dr Foster report of use in local service planning.

Diabetes

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage increase in dieticians will be required in hospitals and primary care services over the next five years in order to provide healthy eating advice for (a) all patients and (b) patients with diabetes.

Malcolm Chisholm: Responsibility for ensuring healthy eating advice is provided to all patients, and those with diabetes, lies not only with dieticians but with other members of the wider health care team. It is for individual NHS boards to determine the appropriate service model to deliver this. A large proportion of the pre-registration training in the UK for dieticians is provided in Scotland, and there is no indication of a shortage in relation to demand.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new cases of diabetic kidney failure were dealt with by the NHS in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table provides information about the incidence of patients receiving renal replacement therapy (RRT) for end stage renal disease (ESRD) as a result of diabetic nephropathy (DN).

  The information is drawn from the Scottish renal registry (SRR), a national registry of patients with renal failure and other renal disorders.

  Number of Patients Starting RRT for ESRD with Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) 2000 to 2002

  

 Calendar year
 Number of Incident 
  Patients


 2000
 102


 2001
 93


 2002
 99



  Notes:

  1. "Incident" refers to the number of patients who start RRT for ESRD in Scottish hospitals each year.

  2. Figures were extracted from the Scottish renal registry on 15 November 2003.

  3. Some patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) will have a cause of ESRD other than DN. Where this other cause is known, it is recorded as the primary renal disease. The numbers of patients with DM who started RRT will therefore be slightly higher than that shown in the table.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much diabetic kidney disease has cost the NHS in each of the last three years.

Malcolm Chisholm: This information is not collected centrally.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are being taken to address diabetic kidney disease.

Malcolm Chisholm: NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NQIS)’s renal standards acknowledge diabetes as one of the commonest conditions that can lead to renal disease. NQIS’s diabetes standards contain a standard relating specifically to the management of renal problems. Responsibility for implementation of these standards rests with NHS boards.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in developing a comprehensive diabetic retinopathy screening programme in each NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Health Department Letter (2003)23 requires each NHS board to have a comprehensive diabetic retinopathy screening programme in its area by March 2006. The Scottish Diabetes Group, which monitors the Scottish diabetes framework, considers that all boards appear to be making satisfactory progress on this aspect of the framework.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS board areas are providing annual reviews for people diagnosed with diabetes and what the average waiting time is for such reviews in each board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Annual reviews are provided for people with diabetes in all parts of Scotland. Information on how each NHS board organises these is not collected centrally.

  The diabetes standards published by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland make provision for people with diabetes to be offered an examination annually, or more frequently where clinically indicated.

Diabetes

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the NHS Quality Improvement Scotland report into local diabetes services to be published.

Malcolm Chisholm: I understand that NHS Quality Improvement Scotland expects to publish local and national reports on its diabetes standards in March 2004.

Employment

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address the issue of chronic underemployment in Glasgow.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive is working with key partners to raise the economic activity rate in Glasgow from its current rate of 68.7% during the 12 months to May 2003, closer to the Scotland rate of 79%. This is being done by ensuring that more Glasgow residents have the skills and the support to tackle particular barriers to employment which will allow them to take advantage of job opportunities being created in the city.

  Recognising the need for greater co-ordination of welfare to work initiatives, the Executive is working with the City Council, Scottish Enterprise Glasgow, Greater Glasgow Health Board, Careers Scotland, ESF, the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, and Jobcentre Plus to support the Glasgow Welfare to Work Forum, launched in June 2003. It is actively pursuing a number of actions to ensure that Glasgow has a healthy and dynamic economy providing good quality jobs for Glasgow residents.

  Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government.

Europe

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its achievements in European policy have been since 1999.

Mr Andy Kerr: The achievements of the Scottish Executive in European policy since 1999 are wide ranging and numerous and are recorded in the proceedings of the Parliament and its various committees.

Fire Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents were attended by each fire brigade on (a) 4, (b) 5 and (c) 6 November in each of the last three years.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally.

Fire Service

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how often Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade has been called out to incidents at the Omni Centre, Greenside Place, Edinburgh, since January 2003 and on the average cost of such call-outs.

Hugh Henry: This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade.

Fuel Duty

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual costs have been of (a) Fuel Duty Rebates and (b) Bus Service Operator Grants since 1997.

Nicol Stephen: Fuel Duty Rebate was replaced by Bus Service Operators Grant with effect from 1 July 2002. The information sought is as follows.

  

 Financial Year
 Expenditure 
  on Bus Fuel Duty (£ million)
 Expenditure 
  on Bus Service Operators Grant (£ million)


 1997-98
 32.130
 -


 1998-99
 37.867
 -


 1999-2000
 45.196
 -


 2000-01
 49.262
 -


 2001-02
 49.641
 -


 2002-03
 12.830
 36.810

Fuel Duty

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what level of relief has been available under the (a) Fuel Duty Rebate and (b) Bus Service Operators Grant in each year since 1997.

Nicol Stephen: For Bus Fuel Duty, replaced from 1 July 2002 by Bus Service Operators Grant, the rate of rebate paid on ultra low sulphur diesel, the fuel predominantly used by bus operators, have been as follows:

  

 Effective Date
 Rebate (pence 
  per litre)


 1997
 25.14


 18 March 1998
 29.85


 10 March 1999
 35.07


 22 March 2000
 36.68


 1 October 2003
 37.96

Health

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether patients are able to be prescribed anti-TNF drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis and, if so, whether the prescription of such drugs is based solely on clinical need.

Malcolm Chisholm: The use of these treatments depends on the clinical judgement of the specialist concerned. Data on drugs dispensed in hospital or in hospital-based clinics are not available centrally.

  Where NHS Quality Improvement Scotland or the Scottish Medicines Consortium has issued advice on the use of anti-TNF drugs, I expect NHSScotland to take account of that advice and ensure that these drugs are made available to meet clinical need.

Justice

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many deaths occurred in each year from 1992 to 1999 as a result of gunshot wounds.

Hugh Henry: The information requested is given in the following table.

  Deaths from Gunshot Wounds in Scotland

  

 1992
 1993
 1994
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999


 26
 33
 30
 43
 41
 20
 32
 25

Justice

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what value of criminal assets was seized from June 2002 to June 2003.

Colin Boyd QC: The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service monitors performance on a financial year basis. Thirty two confiscation orders were made in the Financial Year 2002-03, totalling £1,682,587.

  In the current year since April 2003, £1,548,461 has been confiscated or forfeited under proceeds of crime legislation. Thirty seven confiscation orders have been made totalling £1,203,482. The total amount of assets forfeited under the new civil recovery procedure is £344,979.

Non-Domestic Rates

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with Her Majesty’s Government in respect of the impact on the telecommunications industry of differences in the calculation methods used by valuers in ascribing rateable values to BT and other fixed line operators.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is in regular contact with the UK Government on a wide range of issues, including non-domestic rates. Scottish assessors are also in regular contact with their counterparts in England and Wales, the Valuation Office Agency, to ensure the system is consistent north and south of the border.

Non-Domestic Rates

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what levels of rateable value are ascribed to telecommunications cables in the primary control of network operators other than BT and what information it has on the values ascribed to equivalent cables controlled by the same operators in England.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following is a summary of the total rateable value for the major operators (which is split into local valuation rolls) rounded to nearest £50,000:

  

 Operator
 


 BT
 £45.5 million


 Cable and Wireless (Mercury) 
  
 £3.15 million


 THUS
 £2.7 million


 Telewest (includes cable TV) 
  
 £4.3 million


 NTL (includes cable TV)
 £2.5 million



  The relevant assessor is also in contact with:

  

 Easynet


 Energis


 Global Crossing


 Zipcom plc


 Your Communications


 MCI Worldcom


 SSE Telecommunications



  With a view to identifying the extent of their Scottish networks and agreeing appropriate rateable values.

  Information on rateable values in England is a matter for the Valuation Office Agency. The information is not held centrally by the Scottish Executive.

Police

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current police station at Peebles can be made compliant with access requirements under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and what additional funding is being made available to Lothian and Borders Police for the purposes of compliance with the act.

Cathy Jamieson: Compliance with the act is a matter for Lothian and Borders Police. The Executive provides all police authorities with both recurrent funding and consents for capital expenditure, and either budget may be used for the purposes of making adjustments to buildings in accordance with the Disability Discrimination Act.

Police

Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on how often Lothian and Borders Police have attended incidents at the Omni Centre, Greenside Place, Edinburgh since January 2003 and on the average cost of such call-outs.

Cathy Jamieson: Such information is not held centrally. The routine deployment of Lothian and Borders officers is a matter for Lothian and Borders Police.

Population

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many, and what percentage of, people in each age group have left Scotland in each of the last 10 years.

Hugh Henry: The following tables set out the information readily available, drawn from patient registrations with general practitioners as recorded in the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and from the 2001 Census.

  The NHSCR provides information on the re-registration of patients moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

  Outward Moves Recorded in NHSCR, by Age

  


 0-14
 15-24
 25 
  - 59/64
 60/65+


 Year to Sept
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population


 1996
 10,075
 1.1
 15,201
 2.3
 27,030
 1.1
 2,515
 0.3


 1997
 9,786
 1.0
 15,473
 2.4
 27,965
 1.1
 2,560
 0.3


 1998
 9,132
 1.0
 15,325
 2.4
 28,140
 1.1
 2,350
 0.3


 1999
 9,013
 1.0
 15,863
 2.5
 28,364
 1.1
 2,487
 0.3


 2000
 9,247
 1.0
 15,610
 2.5
 29,719
 1.2
 2,630
 0.3


 2001
 8,074
 0.9
 14,729
 2.3
 27,840
 1.1
 2,406
 0.3


 2002
 8,325
 0.9
 14,376
 2.2
 27,099
 1.1
 2,310
 0.2



  The 2001 Census provides information about out-migration to the rest of the UK (but not to other countries, because such migrants will not have completed a Census form) in the 12 months ending 29 April 2001.

  Moves Recorded in 2001 Census, by Age

  


 0-14
 15-24
 25 
  - 59/64
 60/65+


 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population


 Moves from Scotland 
  to rest of UK
 7,143
 0.8
 14,556
 2.3
 23,941
 0.9
 2,130
 0.2



  The flows recorded by the NHSCR tend to be larger because they include short-term moves and multiple moves for the same person, whereas the Census only compares address at the date of the Census with address a year earlier.

Population

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in each age group have moved to Scotland in each of the last 10 years, expressed also as a percentage of Scotland’s population in each age group.

Hugh Henry: The following tables set out the information readily available, drawn from patient registrations with general practitioners as recorded in the National Health Service Central Register (NHSCR) and from the 2001 Census.

  The NHSCR provides information on the re-registration of patients moving between Scotland and the rest of the UK.

  Inward Moves Recorded in NHSCR, by Age

  


 0-14
 15-24
 25-59/64
 60/65+


 Year to Sept
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a % of age group population
 Moves
 Moves 
  as a
% of age group population


 1996
 9,730
 1.0
 14,220
 2.2
 25,680
 1.0
 2,301
 0.2


 1997
 10,121
 1.1
 13,661
 2.1
 27,061
 1.1
 2,683
 0.3


 1998
 10,737
 1.1
 14,922
 2.4
 29,703
 1.2
 2,869
 0.3


 1999
 9,645
 1.0
 14,088
 2.3
 27,147
 1.1
 2,586
 0.3


 2000
 8,914
 1.0
 13,630
 2.2
 26,218
 1.0
 2,843
 0.3


 2001
 10,282
 1.1
 14,033
 2.2
 30,491
 1.2
 3,073
 0.3


 2002
 9,585
 1.1
 13,774
 2.2
 30,125
 1.2
 3,487
 0.4



  The 2001 Census provides information about all in-migration to Scotland in the 12 months ending 29 April 2001.

  Moves Recorded in 2001 Census, by Age

  


 0-14
 15-24
 25 
  - 59/64
 60/65+


 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population
 Moves
 % 
  of age group population


 Moves to Scotland 
  from rest of UK
 7,487
 0.8
 13,004
 2.1
 24,577
 1.0
 2,755
 0.3


 Moves to Scotland 
  from outside UK
 4,224
 0.5
 9,284
 1.5
 14,740
 0.6
 620
 0.1



  The flows recorded by the NHSCR tend to be larger because they include short-term moves and multiple moves for the same person, whereas the Census only compares address at the date of the Census with address a year earlier.

Prescription Charges

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will next review income-related exemptions to NHS prescription charges.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are no plans at present to review income-related exemptions to NHS prescription charges.

Public Private Partnerships

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether local authorities can require the provision of sustainable development measures, such as recycling facilities, energy efficiency standards, cycle parking and renewable energy sources, within the process of building or refurbishing schools under public private partnership (PPP) contracts.

Mr Andy Kerr: Local authorities can, and should, require the provision of sustainable development measures within their schools PPP project. The long-term and integrated nature of PPP incentivises contractors to consider the synergies between the design of an asset and its ultimate operating performance. This offers the opportunity to deliver public services in a more environmentally friendly way.

Radioactive Waste

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the Ministry of Defence regarding the environmental impact of the decommissioning of nuclear submarines and storage of nuclear material on the west of Scotland, in particular on Faslane and Coulport.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is taking a close interest in the consultation process. We have engaged with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on procedural aspects of the consultation process, in order to ensure that the issues are aired at a local and national level. We have made it clear to the MoD that we expect to be kept fully informed of developments. The environmental impact of any proposal taken forward will be fully assessed by the regulators.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to establish a pedestrian crossing on the A68 in Lauder.

Nicol Stephen: The Scottish Executive has commissioned Amey Highways Ltd to carry out an engineering assessment to determine if a pedestrian crossing is justified on the A68 in Lauder.

Smoking

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children have been admitted to hospital due to complications caused by environmental tobacco smoke in the last three years.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is not available centrally.

  A report by the Royal College of Physicians of London, Smoking and the young: a report of a working party of the Royal College of Physicians, in 1992 estimated that as many as 17,000 hospital admissions in a single year of children under the age of five are due to parental smoking.

Social Work

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Social Work Services Inspectorate has any power to enforce the findings of its reports against either individuals or local authorities.

Euan Robson: The Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 sets out the statutory basis on which local authorities are required to deliver social work services in their area. Recommendations from inspection reports are incorporated in the statutory guidance, and by operation of section 5(1) of the act, local authorities are under a duty to perform their functions in accordance with such guidance.

  The act also empowers Scottish ministers to issue directions to local authorities concerning the manner in which they exercise their social work functions. Under section 5(1A) of the act, local authorities are under a duty to comply with such directions.

Social Work

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average caseload is of social workers in children and families teams.

Euan Robson: This information is not held centrally.

Social Work

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of funding this financial year is for social work services in the area of (a) community care, (b) children and families, (c) criminal justice and (d) residential care, broken down by local authority area.

Euan Robson: Local authority social work expenditure by category can be found in pages 21 to 23 of the CIPFA Rating Review Estimates of Income and Expenditure 2003-04, which can be found in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 29256).

Sport

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will encourage and promote local community sports strategies, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Mr Frank McAveety: As part of its work in meeting the targets set out in Sport 21, the Executive, through  sportscotland, will work with community planning partnerships to ensure that local strategies developed through community planning take full account of the role and needs of sport.

Sport

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will develop accreditation schemes to allow greater numbers of people to act as coaches and physical activity trainers and how it will promote New Deal programmes which provide opportunities to train as sports assistants, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Mr Frank McAveety: To achieve our targets of increasing participation, it is essential that there are sufficient coaches, physical activity trainers and sports assistants to meet the increased demand. The Executive and  sportscotland will consider how best to develop these schemes and programmes in taking forward the Active Schools Programme.

Sport

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will improve support for clubs and groups to provide coaching for sports and how it will encourage such groups to provide coaching facilities for school children, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland .

Mr Frank McAveety: The Executive will invest £24 million in the active schools programme over the years 2003-04 to 2005-06 and  sportscotland is taking the lead in developing the programme. This programme will look to ensure that links are established between schools and local clubs so that school children have increased access to coaching.

  In addition to this, the Executive is committed to meeting the targets set out in Sport 21 2003-2007. Target 10 commits Scottish sport to sustaining 150,000 volunteers who are contributing to the development and delivery of sport, many of whom are coaches. An implementation group is being set up to consider how to take this commitment forward.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what additional funding has been allocated to VisitScotland to boost the marketing of Scotland as a destination following the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Mr Frank McAveety: VisitScotland has used this unique opportunity to showcase the many attractions that Scotland holds from within its existing budget. On the back of the tremendous success of the awards, VisitScotland will continue to market Scotland as a must visit destination.

Tourism

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was spent on marketing for the MTV Europe Music Awards and whether it provided additional funding for this purpose and, if so, from what budget such funds were allocated.

Mr Frank McAveety: MTV Networks Europe was responsible for marketing the MTV Europe Music Awards. No additional funding was provided for this purpose.

Young People

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will develop and support mentoring programmes for young people in Greenock and Inverclyde.

Euan Robson: As part of the Executive’s partnership agreement commitment to provide opportunities for our children and young people to grow and develop, we are committed to develop our support for mentoring programmes for young people. We have not yet started to develop specific proposals on this commitment but expect to do so during the course of next year.

  In the meantime we currently support mentoring programmes through our financial support of Big Brothers and Sisters – £30,000 in this financial year to contribute to core HQ costs. Big Brothers and Sisters provide adult volunteer mentors to children and young people aged six to sixteen from lone parent families. We have also provided project funding of £40,000 in the current year to the Fostering Network to run a mentoring scheme for young people leaving care.

Young People

Mr Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds will be made available to provide support to localised action and initiatives to divert young people away from crime, as referred to in A Partnership for a Better Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: As the partnership agreement committed, we will direct £10 million to provide additional support to localised action and initiatives to divert young people away from crime. We have also allocated an additional £5 million to local authorities in the grant aided expenditure settlement for 2004-05 and 2005-06 specifically for youth work.